By Sophie Taylor
The most unexpected round yet?
We run through the talking points from the final round of SSN.
FINALS CONFIRMATION DOWN TO THE WIRE
While the top four has been locked in for a few weeks, confirmation for the host of the Minor Semi Final came down to the final minutes of the Vixens vs Fever clash on Sunday afternoon.
A tough win from the Mavs on Saturday put them in good stead to host the Fever next week, but also meant the Fever knew exactly what kind of goal margin they’d need to earn the hosting rights back on Sunday.
And they put that into action right from the start against the Vixens, coming into the clash with the heat on and extra travel on the line.
While the first quarter was relatively even, including down to the Power Five with both teams willing to shoot from range, it was the second and third where the Fever took control.
A run of five goals early in the second quarter and two Suncorp Super Shots to the Vixens zero earned Fever a nine-goal margin – and hosting rights – at half time, before they extended further to lead by as many as 16 goals in the final quarter.
The Vixens fought valiantly in the final term to reduce that margin, and in the process gave the Mavs another bite of the third-place cherry with just seven goals separating the teams after a Sophie Garbin Super Shot in the final 90 seconds.
The Fever were looking for eight goals at a minimum, and a final goal on the siren to go nine goals up locked in the home Semi Final for the away side.
GIANTS ON THE BOARD
Well, they did it.
Fourteen rounds, and the GIANTS finally got the win they’ve been waiting for.
In a NSW derby, no less, the final match of the home and away season, and in the final three minutes of action. Talk about down to the wire!
And did they celebrate like they’d won the granny?
They sure did – and fair enough, too.
It’s been a disappointing season for the GIANTS to say the least, unable to capitalise when they’ve held a lead and boasting some strong individual performances in the process.
The one-goal victory came down to the final seconds, with a Suncorp Super Shot miss from the Swifts allowing the GIANTS to wind down the clock with just 32 seconds remaining on the clock.
Fever decided their home Semi Final in the final seconds against the Vixens.
Sophie Dwyer was electric, piling on the offensive pressure with 15 goals and five Suncorp Super Shots, while Hope White had her best performance of the year with 26 assists from 39 feeds.
The GIANTS’ accuracy from range ended up being the difference, putting up less shots during the Power Five but only missing two shots to the Swifts’ five.
Swifts young gun Nicola Barge put in the hard yards from range to win back the margin with just minutes remaining on the clock, piling on four straight Suncorp Super Shots in the final five minutes.
But it was too little, too late, for the Swifts who found themselves on the back foot thanks to two runs of three goals from the GIANTS in the final term.
It has been a long three months for the GIANTS, who will be glad to have finished on a high.
HUGE FINALS SERIES INCOMING
The tenth SSN season is sure to finish with a bang with a massive Sunday double header to begin finals.
The Major Semi Final between the Thunderbirds and Vixens is up first at 1:30pm ACST (2pm AEST), before the Fever and Mavericks go head-to-head from 2pm AWST (4pm AEST).
Expect the heat to be on, with the Thunderbirds and Mavs coming in off the back of hot form – eight wins on the trot from the Tbirds and four straight from the Mavs.
But the Vixens and Fever are proven finals competitors, with the Vix coming from fourth last year and the Fever getting the win on the weekend to put an end to some tough weeks.
One thing is for sure: expect the unexpected.
ON THE STATS SHEET
Elmeré van der Berg has finished the season atop the scoring tally with 708 goals across 14 rounds, missing just 75 goals for the season to sit at a 90 per cent shooting accuracy in her first SSN season.
Teammates Georgie Horjus (287 goal assists), Shamera Sterling-Humphrey (93 deflections, 30 rebounds) and Latanya Wilson (37 intercepts) also topped their respective leaderboards, showcasing the impressive form of the minor premiers in 2026.
Vixens goal attack Kiera Austin finished the season with the most Suncorp Super Shots, successful 54 times from her 81 attempts (67 per cent), while Maddie Hay had a successful first season in Mavs sky blue with 313 centre pass receives across her 14 appearances.
